50 Promising Biopharma Companies to Be Selected Annually for Joint Support by Health and SMEs Ministries

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will select 50 promising small and midsize biopharma companies each year for focused support tailored to their stage of development.

The two ministries met with representatives of small and midsize biopharma companies at Lunit in Seoul’s Gangnam District on the 17th to discuss key elements of the “K-Biopharma Frontier Company Development Plan.”

The plan calls for selecting 50 frontier companies annually in drug development, digital health and medical devices, and biomaterials and production technology, and providing tailored support based on each company’s stage of growth.

Attendees included Lee Hyung-hoon, second vice minister of health and welfare; Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and startups; and representatives of eight small and midsize companies in drug development, digital health, medical devices, biomaterials and production technology.

Company representatives said support for technology development and testing and validation is needed during candidate development and preclinical stages. As products advance to clinical trials, they said, large-scale funding, specialized personnel, and collaboration with hospitals and clinical institutions become increasingly important.

They also called for stronger links among policy support programs to sustain growth through product approval, technology transfer, follow-on investment and entry into global markets.

The two ministries plan to coordinate their policy tools along a growth pathway from technology development through clinical trials and demonstration, commercialization, investment and guarantees, and global expansion, rather than limiting support to individual research and development (R&D) projects.

They will also establish a collaborative support system combining the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s biopharma expertise and clinical and commercialization support infrastructure with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ capabilities in identifying companies and supporting startups, R&D, investment and commercialization.

“Based on feedback from companies, we will work closely with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to establish an effective support system that can address the challenges promising companies face as they grow,” said Lee Hyung-hoon, second vice minister of health and welfare.

“By combining the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ capabilities in R&D, investment and commercialization with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s biopharma expertise, we will actively support promising companies as they grow from technology development to entry into global markets,” Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and startups, said.